ELLSWORTH – Five people were hurt Thursday night after the sport utility vehicle they were riding in rolled over on Route 180.

Two of the injured remained hospitalized Friday morning.

Police said 18-year-old Steven Kreinus was rounding a curve near Flower Way at about midnight when the 2003 Ford Expedition he was driving hit soft sand on the shoulder.

He lost control of the vehicle, which rolled over several times and ejected four of the five occupants before it came to a rest upright on an embankment.

Police said the front-seat passenger, 34-year-old Arthur Herbest, suffered head trauma and possible fractures. He and Kreinus were taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. A hospital spokeswoman had no information Friday on their medical conditions.

Kreinus suffered head and spinal trauma, according to police reports.

Three passengers in the back seat also were injured. Maxine White, 19; Azure Averill, 24; and Jeremy Kane, 18, were treated at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth and later released.

Police said none of the occupants were wearing a seat belt.

Shortly before the accident, Ellsworth police officers were in the area of Route 180, also known as Mariaville Road, investigating a report of gunshots fired at a residence. The caller told police someone fired three or four shots at her trailer from inside a green Ford Expedition.

Ellsworth Police Chief John DeLeo said Officer Glenn Moshier was responding to the call when he saw a vehicle matching the description heading in the opposite direction. He turned around to follow the Expedition but lost track of it in heavy fog, the chief said.

A short time later, Sgt. Bart Tokas happened upon the accident scene, where four people were lying on the ground.

Tokas reported seeing one of the crash victims, later identified as Kane, run away from the wreckage, DeLeo said. Officers used Vegas, the department’s search dog, to try to find him but were unsuccessful.

Kane was located about two hours later after a traffic stop in Hancock. Police said he was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over by a Hancock County sheriff’s deputy on Route 1.

Kane, who suffered a head laceration in the rollover, was taken to the hospital for treatment.

DeLeo said officers recovered a shotgun at the accident scene. Both the crash and the report of gunshots are under investigation. As of Friday, no charges had been filed.